


And Pastel Futures

by arienai (pikestaff)



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, Maya Has Sensory Processing Issues, Mild emotional hurt/comfort, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 14:36:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18967225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikestaff/pseuds/arienai
Summary: Maya hates the way makeup feels on her face - especially when it's combined with the loud noises and bright lights that are par for the course when you're an idol.  Eve wants to help, but can the spirit of bushido truly solve a problem like this?  Based on a quick scene from the anime where Eve helps a miserable-looking Maya with her makeup.





	And Pastel Futures

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ember_Keelty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember_Keelty/gifts).



> For my girlfriend who is very supportive and loves this ship <3

Eve started doing Maya's makeup for her mostly by accident.

It began when Maya had been staring rather glumly at the mirror, and then down at her makeup bag, sighing, and then looking back up at the mirror.

Normally, Pastel*Palettes had assistants help them with their makeup.  This included Maya, who had put up with it a few times, but today she just couldn't.  She hated the way makeup felt on her face.  It was so thick and cakey and _ugh_.  So in a moment of overload, she'd told the assistant that she'd put it on herself.  And now there she was, trying to get herself to do exactly that.  Her hope was that by putting the makeup on herself, she could control the way it felt.  Maybe she could make it feel less awful.  But no, no matter what she did, it felt like she was smearing clay or mud or something all over herself.  It was terrible!

And as it turned out, that was also exactly when Eve needed to borrow Maya's hairbrush.

As she was leaning across to get it -  "sorry, excuse me," she said as she did so - she looked in the mirror and saw Maya's dejected expression.  Immediately, Eve's face lit up with concern.  "Maya-san!" she exclaimed as she turned to face her.  "Are you okay?  Are you sick?"

"No... I'm feeling okay," said Maya.  "I just... don't like the makeup."

"Don't like the makeup?" Eve's eyes widened.  "Do you think it's not pretty enough?  I bet it would look lovely on you!  This eye shadow will bring out your eyes.  The color matches perfectly."

Well.  That was an unexpected response, and it made Maya blush.  "No, th... that's not it either," she stammered.  "B... but thank you for the compliment!  The makeup is very lovely.  I just don't like the way it feels."

"The way it feels?"

"On my face, I mean."  Maya looked away.  "This sounds silly, I suppose."

"Oh, not at all!" Eve said quickly, helping herself next to a nearby seat.  "Well.  I suppose I don't really understand.  But I don't think it's silly!  Everyone has some things they don't like.  Even the strongest samurai have dislikes!"

Maya didn't think she knew enough about samurai to be able to argue with that.  She figured she'd just try to explain further.  She didn't really have any reason to, in particular, but talking to Eve was always nice and she was an excellent listener.  "It just feels really thick on my face," she said.  "And if I have an itch, and I scratch it, the makeup gets all under my fingernails!"

"Oh no!" Eve lamented as though this was the worst possible thing.

Her response made Maya feel a little bit better about the whole situation.  Perhaps it was true when Eve said she wasn't being overly silly.  "Anyway," she said, "I told the assistants that I could do it on my own.  I thought maybe I could make it feel better.  But I don't know if I can.  And anyway, I don't know anything about makeup to begin with!  I don't know if I'm cut out for being an idol."

"What?" Eve was taken aback.  "That has nothing to do with it!  The best warriors can fight even without weapons, because they know that their spirit inside is what makes them a true warrior."

The talk about warriors and weapons caught Maya off guard, but as she put some thought into it, she supposed she could understand what Eve meant.  Mostly because she knew that she was capable of appreciating the intricacies of sound production even if she didn't have any equipment at hand.  "Mmm... I guess you're right," she said.  "But still, they want me to wear makeup for this show, and I don't think I can get out of it."

"Hmm."  Eve tilted her head in thought.  She chewed on her lip just a little bit as she did so, and Maya thought that was very cute.  "Maybe I can help you put it on?" Eve offered then.  "I'll try to be extra gentle!"

Maya wasn't sure how much difference that would make, but it was worth a shot.  And besides, it was really hard to say no to Eve.  "I guess we can try it," she said.

"Here," said Eve.  "You tell me whenever something doesn't feel right.  Okay?"  Then she smiled, and Maya knew she really wanted to help her, and that made her feel a little bit better.

So Eve began the process of applying makeup to Maya's face.  At first, it wasn't really that bad.  Eve was doing her best to be gentle, and Maya could just focus on looking into her eyes.  But as they continued, it became more unbearable.  Eventually she shut her eyes and then tried very hard not to shy away from Eve's touch as she felt all the different types of makeup build up on her face.  She felt like she was a cake and was being covered with more and more frosting. At least frosting tasted good, though! This terrible ordeal didn't even have that benefit!

But finally - "There!" Eve said.  Maya opened her eyes, although she sort of felt like they had been glued shut with eye shadow and who knew what else.  "How do you feel?" Eve asked with genuine concern.

"Urgh... I don't like it... but thank you," said Maya.  "You did it better than the assistants usually do it."

"Good!" Eve said.  "But I'm sorry that it feels so bad for you.  Maybe we could talk to Chisato-san and see if we could come up with an alternative makeup for you?"

"I don't think there are any alternatives," said Maya, which was the truth.  She was certain it would all feel terrible, no matter what.  "But... thank you, really!"

"You're welcome!" said Eve.  She was beaming a bright smile and even the bright artificial lights of the room seemed to enhance her snowy white hair.  It was enough to rejuvenate Maya just a bit, and even though she hated wearing  the makeup and how it felt, Eve's support put her in a better mood and she was able to enjoy the show more than she had in a while.

 

Things went similarly for the next few events.  Instead of having the assistants help her, Maya had Eve help her instead.  Eve was careful and attentive and talked to her with a soft, encouraging voice.  That didn't fix the root problem, of course, but it definitely made things more bearable.  Eve enjoyed giving her pep talks beforehand, which were usually filled with words like "samurai" and "ninjas" and "katanas" and "bushido".  Maya didn't always follow these talks, but she could feel the encouragement behind them, and because of that they did help a bit.  She didn't really see herself as a warrior, but Eve seemed to, and that was encouraging.

But Maya was afraid it wouldn't last, and that she would do something to ruin it and disappoint Eve.

That all seemed to happen before one particularly special event.

There were lots of people around in the dressing room that day - so much more than usual - and it was noisy and the lights were bright.  Everyone was on edge.  And Maya felt like it was all too much.

She was already trying to blink back the tears when Eve approached, and she thought she was doing a pretty good job with it, but Eve, of course, noticed something was wrong almost immediately.  She clutched her hands together in worry, eyes wide.  "Maya-san!  Are you okay?"

Her kindness was touching.  Maya looked down.  Her hands were in her lap.  "I think today is going to be bad," she admitted.

"Bad?" Eve asked.  "The show?"

Maya wasn't quite sure how to explain this, but she thought Eve would probably do her best to understand.  So she said, "I get overwhelmed really easily.  When something is very loud, or bright, or... when there's something on my face that doesn't feel right.  Usually I can handle it, if I concentrate enough.  But all of them at once?"  Even as she spoke to Eve, she could feel things getting to her.  The buzz of so many people around talking and mixing up her thoughts, and the bright lights from overhead making her eyes hurt.  She wasn't sure if she could handle a cakey mess on her face on top of that.  But that said, she also didn't want to disappoint Eve, so she felt sort of stuck in her chair, even if all she really wanted to do was run away.

"Ohh, I think I understand!" said Eve.  "It's like a warrior going into battle and having to fight the enemy from all sides instead of just one!"

That made... a surprising amount of sense for something Maya knew nothing about.  "That sounds about right," she said.

"I'll try to be extra careful this time!" There was a determined glint in Eve's sky blue eyes.

Maya had her doubts about that helping when everything else was already too much, but she was willing to give it a shot.  For Eve, if for anything.  "Okay," she said.

So Eve started to carefully apply makeup to Maya's face.  And she was right: she _was_ being extra gentle this time, even moreso than usual.  She was slow and steady, and at first it wasn't bad and Maya thought that maybe she could handle it.  She took a few deep breaths.  She was going to do it, she told herself.

But then it all started to unravel.  People all around were running around and being loud, and the searing lights above seemed to get even brighter and hotter somehow, and the makeup started to feel thick and suffocating, and Maya felt completely trapped in the chair.  She told herself she had to pull through it, for Eve's sake, but -

Her discomfort must have been plain on her face, because Eve suddenly stopped.  "Is that too much?" she asked.  "Ah!  I'm sorry!  I thought I was being gentle!"

Truthfully she _had_ been being gentle, and it wasn't her fault at all, but that just made Maya feel awful about it all.  Suddenly she had to get away from everything.  Before she could think anymore, she pushed her way out of the chair and left the room.  She thought she heard Eve calling for her behind her, but that just made her feel worse about the whole situation.  She wandered down the halls of the building until she found a nice dark, quiet corner underneath a stairwell, and there she sat on the floor and sniffed back tears.  She couldn't even do a simple task for Eve!  She felt thoroughly worthless.

She hid there for a little while and felt herself start to calm down.  The corner was nice and enclosed, and those types of spaces always made her feel safe and comfortable.  Now, though, she had to figure out how to get back to the dressing room without causing a fuss.  Eve was probably worried about her, and she wanted to get back before she made anything worse.

Then she heard footsteps.

Oh no.

She didn't even have the time to think about what to do next when she heard Eve's voice.  "Maya-san?  Are you down here somewhere?"

Well, she may as well admit it.  She didn't want to worry Eve any more than she probably already had.  "Yeah," she replied tentatively. "I'm over here."

She heard the footsteps approach and then Eve came into view... and Chisato did, too.

_Oh no._

"Chi... Chisato-san!" Maya said.  "I'm so sorry.  I know I shouldn't have left the room like that.  I just don't think I can be a good idol.  There's so much about it that I don't understand, and..."

"You can stand up, you know," Chisato said with a half-smile.

"Oh.  R... right," Maya replied.  She'd completely forgotten that she was on the floor to begin with.  She was about to scramble upright when she realized that she was wearing very nice clothes and she'd probably get them all dirty doing that.  Fortunately, Eve extended a hand and helped her up.  Maya blushed once she was standing again, and she wasn't sure if it was because of Eve's soft hand or because the entire situation was embarrassing.  Maybe a bit of both.  Immediately she launched back into apologies.  "A... anyway, I'm so sorry."  She bowed as she spoke.

"Maya-chan," said Chisato, and her voice was understanding but also firm.  "Eve told me about the difficulties you've been having."

"She did?" Maya asked.  She turned and looked at Eve.  "You did?"

"Yes!" said Eve enthusiastically.  "Chisato-san is smart.  She'll definitely know what to do!"

"I'm glad she came to me," said Chisato, turning back to look at Maya.  "The reason we all have to wear makeup isn't just to look pretty, you know.  It's to help our faces stand out on stage.  The lighting has been specially configured to work with the clothes and cosmetics that we wear.  It's all a part of the show."

That made a lot of sense, and Maya sighed and looked down at the floor.  "I'm sorry for not understanding," she said.  "But if being an idol means having to do all that, then I don't think I can be an idol."

"Not necessarily," said Chisato.  "Lighting can be adjusted, after all, and there are different types of makeup to look into."

It took a moment for those words to sink in.  Was Chisato saying... Maya looked up.  "But... but that's so much work!  Adjusting the lighting... finding new makeup..."

"It is definitely work, and we can't do all of it this close to an event," Chisato said.  "But it's definitely something I plan on looking into.  You are a valuable member of Pastel*Palettes.  Your skill with the drums is unparalleled, as far as I'm concerned - as is your enthusiasm for playing them.  It would be a shame to lose you to a newer and much less skilled band member when other compromises can be made."

"Really?"  Maya couldn't believe what she was hearing.  "You mean I can stay in the band?"

"Of course," said Chisato, and she chuckled slightly.  "No one was suggesting you be ousted, after all.  Now if you'll come back with us to the dressing room, we can better discuss our options.  I'm sure it would be nicer to do it there than here."

"Y... yes, of course!" said Maya.

Eve smiled at her.

So, a few minutes later, Maya was back in her chair looking into the mirror.  She still had all the makeup on from earlier, and for a quick, strange moment she felt as though she wasn't looking at herself, but at some unknown idol. But she wasn't alone - Eve and Chisato were with her, and Chisato was holding a small makeup box and discussing what would be done next.  "For now, you will have to wear some powder and blush," she said.  "If you don't wear anything at all, you'll disappear like a ghost on stage."

"Ooh! Spooky!" said Eve.

"However," Chisato continued, "We can bypass the thicker makeup, such as the eye shadow, mascara, and foundation.  After this show, I'll talk to the staff and see about making lighting adjustments in future shows."

"Alright!" Maya said.  She already felt endlessly grateful that Chisato was willing to negotiate at all, and she was willing to give almost anything a shot.

Chisato was speaking again.  "Now I'll just get one of the assistants to come over, and -"

"Wait," said Maya.  "If I could... can I have Eve-san help me with the makeup?  She's been helping me for a while, and she's really good at making it more comfortable for me."

"I see.  I had been wondering why she was always by your chair," said Chisato.  She smiled knowingly. "Alright.  I'll go check on the others."

Then Eve and Maya were alone, and Eve raised an arm in celebration.  "I knew it!  I knew Chisato-san could help!  She's really very nice when it comes down to it." She looked down at the makeup.  "Oh, but what were we going to do again?  The powder and the blush, that's right. But first..."

Gently she took a soft cloth and wiped any previous makeup from Maya's face, and then applied the powder and blush.  She kept talking in a soothing voice the whole time so Maya could focus on that instead of on the other, louder noises of the room.  And the powder and blush hardly took any time to put on at all compared to the heavier makeup.  Soon they were done and Eve stood back.  "How does it feel?" she asked, concerned.

Truthfully, Maya could still feel the powder, and given a choice she wouldn't have worn anything at all.  But it wasn't nearly as thick or cakey as the makeup she usually had to wear was, and she thought it was something she could work with until a better solution could be reached.  Even better, when she looked into the mirror, she didn't see an unrecognizable idol - she saw herself, with Eve beside her.  "It feels... good!" she said, and she meant it.  "I couldn't have done it without your help, Eve-san... thank you!"

Eve beamed at her.  "You truly are brave, Maya-san!" she said.

_Brave_ wasn't a word that Maya had ever really associated with herself before, but she thought she could sort of see it.  And since she was feeling brave... "I have one request," she said.

"Oh?  What is it?  Did I miss a spot?" Eve looked at Maya's face very intently.

"Well, um..." Maya stumbled on her words a bit, because Eve was very close and it was distracting.  But she continued, "No, but I wanted to ask... could you help me take the makeup off?  After the show.  And keep helping me put it on in the future, for as long as I have to wear it.  I know it sounds strange, but... I just like it."  Eve's presence was soothing, and perhaps more than that, she was cute.

She was a little worried about Eve's response, but she didn't have to be.  "Of course I will, Maya-san!" Eve said enthusiastically.

Maya smiled, relieved, and then she chortled a bit too - she couldn't help it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading~
> 
> You can find me on twitter @pikestaff !


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